5 Months

Griffin Girl -

You are 5 months old!! And what an amazing five months it has been! My love for you has grown and multiplied every single day over the past five months. You are my little blue-eyed, chubby-legged, toothless smiling sunshine. Oh, how I love you precious girl!

You were super busy learning to roll over this past month, and you are now an expert at rolling from back to tummy and tummy to back. In fact, since you have discovered this latest trick, you almost refuse to stay on your back. And more than that, you refuse to be still! You have become a wiggly, squiggly little worm!

Your eating and sleeping remain pretty consistently inconsistent. You are still getting 100% breastmilk always in a bottle, and you seem completely satisfied with that. You are up to about five ounces at a time, usually about every four hours. However, as in previous months, that time varies anywhere from three hours to six hours at times. Napping for you is also something that varies from day to day. You do usually take two to four naps a day, but the times and lengths are not always the same. The only consistent thing about your napping is the location - always in your swing. Never anywhere else. Never. Ever.

On your actual five month birthday (the 19th) we tried giving you some rice cereal and bananas. You ate a little, but really were not that interested in anything except the spoon. So, we will wait a while to try food again. Mama is sure not going to rush anything like that if you aren't ready. If bottles satisfy you for now, then bottles it is!

Mama loves you so much, sweet girl. Thanks for making me a girl mom!

I love you forever and always! Mama

Kindergarten

My sweet Hadley -

As I am writing this, you are in the midst of your very first day of Kindergarten. My heart is full of pride for the sweet, sensitive, kind, loving, smart, generous little boy you are. And at the same time, I am a total mess of emotions. I can't believe that you are already old enough to go to "big school" and a little part of me wants to just hang on to the little, innocent boy that you have been.

My prayer for you, as you grow, is that you will always remain as kind and sensitive as you are now. I pray that you will always be sensitive to others' feelings, and be mindful of those feelings in how you speak and act. I pray that you will grow to be a caring young man who remembers how to treat others and be respectful of others. Most importantly, I pray that you will remain strong in your love for Jesus and your knowledge of what is right and wrong. I wish I could bottle up your precious innocence and prevent the world from touching that innocence. But I will just pray that you make wise choices each day and remember what you have learned and what daddy and I have tried to teach you.

I love you so much, Hadley Max. You will always be my baby, no matter how big you get. I can't wait to see your handsome face this afternoon, and hear all about your first day of big school. I love you more than all the ninja turtles put together!!

Mama

4 Months

Sweet Girl,

4 months!! I can't believe I have already had four months of kissing those sweet chubby cheeks! Four months of watching you grow and change before my eyes. Four months of being a girl mom!

This past month has, once again, been one of changes and developments for you. You are so close to rolling over (we have been practicing every day lately!). I just know you will figure it out soon! You love being on your tummy (despite the enormous amounts of drool that puddle underneath you!). You have also developed the cutest giggle that is just the cutest sound ever. We spend a lot of time these days working on getting that giggle out of you!

Your daddy is, by far, your favorite person to give big smiles to. It makes my heart happy to see how much he loves you, and to see you reciprocate that love. And Hadley can still get and hold your attention despite anything else that may be happening around you. Oh how you love your bubba!

Unfortunately your sleep pattern and schedule isn't really any better this month than it has been. You do sleep okay at night and during naps, there is just absolutely no routine and predictability about it. You usually take 2-4 naps per day - one each in the morning and afternoon, and then one or two short power naps in the evening. The length of those naps varies each day, as does the location you prefer each day. Sometimes you nap really well in your swing, and sometimes you will only nap on someone. And never (NEVER) will you nap in your bed. And at night, you will usually go at least one longer stretch a night (5-6 hours), followed by a shorter stretch or two. However, that is not always the case either, and sometimes it's all 4 hour stretches. Again, no predictability. (Read: drives mama crazy!)

You are getting 100% breast milk these days (again, all in a bottle) and we will continue that for as long as possible. You eat about 4-4.5 ounces at a time, usually about every four hours. But again, not really any routine with that either. Sometimes you will go four hours, sometimes five, sometimes three (or even a little less at random times). See a pattern here? Nope, I don't either!!

Despite your lack of a routine, I still can't get enough of you! Oh, how I love you sweet girl. I told daddy just the other day how I didn't realize how much I would adore having a little girl before you were born. And now, you have just stolen my heart. I pray that as you grow, you will always know how deep my love is for you. I love you forever and always, Griffin girl.

Mama